Rare Austrian wines set for Vienna auction

A private collection of thousands of rare Austrian wines are set to be auctioned in Vienna.

The auction, itself a rare event, will take place on 27 September and encompass a wide range of mature white, red and sweet Austrian wine dating back to 1989.

Wines from some of Austria‘s most internationally-prominent producers, including Emmerich Knoll, F. X. Pichler, Willi Bründlmayer and the late Alois Kracher, will be among 800 lots up for sale at the historic Dorotheum auction house, owned by a company of the same name.

The auction comprises around 6,000 bottles, all from the private collection of Alexander Stauder, owner of one of Vienna’s oldest restaurants, Zum Weissen Rauchfangkehrer.

Stauder began collecting the wines in 1997 and eventually amassed nearly 150,000 bottles, which he stored in his two wine cellars in Vienna.

‘I decided to sell the wines because Austrians tend to drink their wines very, very young,’ said Stauder. ‘This means I have a vast amount of wonderful mature wines that still have a long life ahead of them. I would never be able to sell them completely in a restaurant that seats 100 guests.’

The highlight of the auction is a 15-bottle Kracher Kollektion of Trockenbeerenauslesen from 1995, made by the late Alois Kracher and expected to fetch at least EUR1,800.

Other notable offerings in the auction include F. X. Pichler’s ‘M’ Grüner Veltliner Smaragd from 2004 and 2005, expected to fetch up to €680 per 12-bottle case. The sale also includes a six-magnum collection of Albert Gesellman’s red Bela Rex 1999, estimated to bring in at least EUR500.

Written by Darrel Joseph